cooper



3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

(No Model.)

T. COOPER.

AUTOMATIC EXHIBITING APPARATUS.

Patented Aug. 16, I887.

fig. 1.

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(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2. T. COOPER.

AUTOMATIC EXHIBITING APPARATUS. No. 368,279. Patented Aug. 16,1887.

N. PETERS. Plmlo-Liflwgrupher, Washington. D. c.

(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 3. T. COOPER.

AUTOMATIC EXHIBITING APPARATUS.

No. 368,279. Patented Aug. 16, 1887.

a pa;

iulsi ts x. PETERS. Phmohflwgn her. Wa hington. D. C.

case in which articles may be placed and ex- UNITED STATES PATENT, OFFICE.

THOMAS COOPER, OF GREAT RYBURGH, COUNTY OF NORFOLK, ENGLAND.

AUTOMATIC EXHIBITING APPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 368,279, dated August 16, 1887.

Application filed January 15,1887. Serial No. 224,423.

(No model.) Patented in England April 13, 1886, No. 5,139; in France December 28, 1886, No. 180,546; in Germany December 31, 1886, No. 40,324; in Belgium January 7, 1887, No. 75,869. and in Italy March 3l, 1887, XX, 721,037 and XLII, 132.

T0 aZZ whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, THOMAS Coorna, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing at Great Ryburgh, in the county of Norfolk, England, have invented a novel and useful construction of case for displaying objects or exhibiting notices for a limited time, (for which foreign patents have been obtained as follows: Great Britain, No. 5,139, April 13, 1886; France, No.180,516, December 28,1886; Germany, Fla 10,324, December 31,1886; Belgium, No. 75,896, January 7, 1887, and Italy, No. 21,037 and No. 132, March 31, 1887,) of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to provide a hibited for alimited period on the insertion in the apparatus of a coin of predetermined size and weight.

The case may be of any convenient size and shape, and is advantageously provided with one or more windows or eye-holes and lenses provided with a shutter. The shutter is carried by a lever or levers within the case,which is or are so acted on by the coin placed in the apparatus that the lever or levers will remove the shutter, and thereby exhibit the contents of the case. The shutter is prevented from too quickly resuming its normal position in front of the window, when the coin has ceased to act upon the shutter-carrier, by a clockwork provided with a balance-wheel or brake contrivance, or a dash-pot, so that the return motion of the shutter is retarded to the desired extent, and by this means the period is determined during which one payment will cause the articles in the case to be exposed to view.

In order to enable my invention to be "fully understood, I will proceed to describe the same by reference to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a front elevation, partly in section, of a case for displaying objects or exhibiting notices for a limited time according to my invention. Fig. 2 represents a vertical section on the line A B of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 represents a horizontal section on the line C D of Fig.2. Figs. 4. and 5 represent plans of parts of the mechanism detached.

Similar letters indicate similar parts throughout the drawings.

A is the case, and a a are the eye-holes therein, which can be provided with windows a or with lenses.

1) is a frame for containing or holding the article to be viewed, a slip of paper, 0, representing either a telegram or the like, being shown by way of illustration.

(Z is the shutter, and e e are the levers carrying the same, which are shown counter- Weighted and adapted lobe operated by a coin placed in the apparatus, as hereinafter described, the shutter d when in its normal position, as shown by the full lines in Fig. 2, serving to prevent the object 0 from being seen by a person looking through the eye-holes a a. The levers c c are pivoted at f f to the sides of the case A. On one of the pivots f rotates a toothed wheel, g, and a ratchet-wheel, h, which are fixed to one another. The lever c carries a spring-pawl, i, engaging with the ratchet-wheel h. The toothed wheel 9 gears with a pinion, j, on the arbor of which is a fly, it, which serves as a brake for preventing the shutter d from rising too quickly when it has been lowered by the weight of a coin, as hereinafter described.

The ends of the levers e c are connected by a piece, 6', the center portion (which receives the coin) being cut away at Z, as shown in Fig. 5, and a web or flange, m, is provided, thereby forming a ledge, m, on which the coin rests. The web or flange m serves to prevent the said coin from slipping backward or sidewise when deposited on the ledge m.

n is the money-slit, and 0, Fig. 4, is the chute for conducting the coin onto the ledge m on the part c of the levers e a when the said levers are in their normal or raised position. The chute 0 is formed with an opening, 0, for the purpose of allowing any coin smaller than the required size to fall through into the drawer q, instead-of passing onto the part c of the levers. The sides of the chute o are extended sition,

properly operate the shutter by the introductionof a piece of wire or the like will be frustrated.

A window, 19, Fig. 2, is provided at the top of the apparatus, in order to throw a light on the object being exhibited. q is a drawer for receiving the coins deposited in the case.

The operation is as follows: If a coin of the required size and weight be inserted in the slit n, the said coin will be conducted by the chute 0 onto the ledge m. It will then, by reason of its weight, cause the levers e and e to move down, thereby removing the shutter d from the eye-holes a a and allowing the object a to be viewed. The levers e 0 will move down. into the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2, and the coin will then slip off the ledge m into the drawer q, the spring-pawl t on the lever 6 being at the same time caused to move over the teeth of the ratchet-wheel h. After the coin has been deposited in the drawer q the levers will be raised, but their movement will be retarded by the fly k, (or the dash-pot or its equivalent attached to the levers, ifu used,) the pawl 'Z on the lever ethen engaging with the teeth of the ratchet-wheel h, thereby causing the wheel 9 to actuate the fly 70, (by means of the pinion j,) as will be well understood.

It is obvious that the articles which are suitable for exhibition in the above described show-case are practically numberless. Any objects of interest may be thus exhibited,both artistic and scientific-as, for instance, photo graphs, pictures, or the images formed by a camera obscura-or various forms of useful information might also be displayed-sueh as the latest telegrams. Again, the eye pieces of scientific instruments may be temporarily displayed or closed by like means.

It will be evident that my described invention may be so connected with weighing-machines and testing-machinessueh, for example, as those commonly seen at fairs for ascertaining a persons weight and for testing bodily strength or indicating the force of a blowas to display or disclose the result of the weighing, testing, &c. In this case the indicator of the apparatus would be within the show-case and only visible for a certain limited'period after a coin had been placed in the said apparatus.

Although I have described and shown a fly operated by clock-work mechanism as a suitable means of retarding the return movement of the shutter, it will be obvious that other means can be employed for effecting this objec kept hold of the handle on slide or not.

Ihave described and illustrated my invention as applied to a convenient and simple form of apparatus for carrying out the obj b".

I have in view; but it will be obvious that the invention admits of many variations.- For instance, it will be obvious that the operation of disclosing the article to be displayed can be accomplished in various manners. Another way would be byallowing the coin to unlock a slide, which slide could then be pulled down by hand, thus disclosing the object. After a certain time, by arrangement of the dash-pot, clock-work, or flier, the slide would be released and close the aperture, whether the person Instead of making the closing-shutter to work vertically, it could of course'be made to work horizontally, and two or more shutters could be employed.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I claim is 1. A case provided with an opening for the reception of a coin or weight and with asightopening for viewing an object within the case, in combination with a shutter operated by the weight or coin to unclose the sight-opening and a counter-weight to close the shutter.

2. A case provided with a coin-receiving aperture and with a sightopening or openings, combined with an interior shutter or blind, which in its normal state covers the sight opening or openings and is interposed between the sight-opening and an object to be viewed within the case, and mechanism operated by the introduction of a -coin or weight introduced at the coin-receiving aperture to remove said blind away from said opening and thereby expose to view an object behind it inside the case. I

3. A case provided with a sight opening or openings and witha coin or weightreceiving aperture, combined with a pivoted lever carryinga blind, which in its normal position covers said sight opening or openings, and retarding mechanism,substantially as described, whereby the restoring of the blind to its normal position in front of the sight opening or openings is regulated, substantially as set forth.

7 THOMAS COOPER. 'Witnessesi G. L. Bniinrrnnn, J OHN (JOKER. 

